Digital Mammogram Has Advantages

NOVEMBER 01, 2005

A landmark study found that mammograms
using digital imaging to help
detect breast cancer are better than
standard x-rays for young women and
those with dense breasts. The newer
test, however, is not a better indicator
for most postmenopausal women.

Each of the 42,760 participants
received both types of mammograms.
The results were independently reviewed
by 2 radiologists, and biopsies
determined whether suspicious findings
were indeed cancer. Follow-up
examinations were conducted a year
later to determine how many cancers
had been missed the first time around.
The researchers had detected a total of
335 breast cancers. Both mammograms
missed about 30% of them.

Specifically, the digital mammograms
were 15% more accurate, compared
with standard film x-rays in
women under age 50. For women with
dense breasts and those not going
through menopause, digital mammograms
were 11% and 15% better,
respectively. Although digital mammograms
are more expensive and are
not widely used today, physicians
expect that they will become the norm
because of their advantages. Digital
mammograms can be stored on a
computer and sent electronically whenever
a woman moves or a new physician
needs to review them.